STORM LATEST * State of Emergency in force across West Coast and Tasman regions; * Far North cut off after SH1 blocked by slip at Mangamuku Gorge and flooding at Kaeo;* Schools are closed and vehicles are hemmed in between slips…

A young Australian woman has taken to TikTok to reveal the surprise reason she was hit with a $1000 fine from Queensland Police.

Hailey Gillard said she had been "shocked" to get the fine in the mail.

She had been caught on a road safety camera wearing a seatbelt improperly.

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While it was clipped in, Gillard had worn the belt passing under her arm, instead of – as required by law – over her shoulder.

In Queensland the rules state: "Seatbelts must be worn with the belt over your shoulder, running across your chest and be buckled low on your hip. Wearing a seatbelt any other way will result in a fine."

Gillard said she had chosen to wear the belt that way because she had been feeling carsick that day.

Nonetheless, she was slapped with a $1078 fine and four demerit points.

READ MORE: 'Conveyor belts' of cold fronts approaching as states brace for potential flooding

"It was a bit of a shock I think, as I was in the passenger seat," she said.

She urged her audience to be "really careful" on the roads.

"Even if you're wearing a seatbelt, wear it properly," she said.

"Don't do what I did and get a $1000 fine."

The sight of lifeless silvery fish will become more common, according to one marine biologist who believes La Nina will exacerbate mass fish kills in Australia.

The dire prediction comes as the Bureau of Metrology (BoM) upgraded the likelihood of another La Nina occurring to 70 per cent; this would be the third back-to-back wet weather event.

The warning also comes after "thousands" of dead fish were found washed up on the the shore of NSW's Lake Macquarie on the central coast last weekend.

READ MORE: 'Conveyor belts' of cold fronts approaching country

According to Dr Leonardo Guida, a shark scientist and conservationist at the Australian Marine Conservation Society, scenes like the photo above will become more common.

"I suspect these fish kills will increase in the future," he said, adding that climate change and wet weather is a leading cause of die-offs.

"With climate change it's quite likely, almost a guarantee, we will see more severe weather events, which can ultimately lead to fish deaths.

"Already we've seen some pretty horrible examples."

Guida explained floodwater can decrease the amount of oxygen available in riverine and marine environments as it can generate bacteria and algal blooms.

READ MORE: Police seize staggering amount of 'ice'

"In the context of floods you get massive run-off of water," he said.

"Animal waste, chemicals, nutrients from fertilisers can get pushed into ecosystems and that can then cause algal blooms, which use up oxygen in the water – reducing the amount of oxygen for other marine life like fish.

"Because of flooding – whether it's from nutrients, fertilsers, animal waste or decaying plants and animals – marine life is getting choked of oxygen."

Guida pointed to the Lake Macqurie fish kill observed last weekend and admitted he was "surprised" to see a white-spotted eagle ray among the deceased.

Although it has not been formally confirmed he suspects recent wet weather and flash flooding contributed to the die-off.

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The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is ramping up efforts to determine the cause of the mass kill.

In a statement issued it said heavy metals were an "unlikely" cause of death – signs point towards oxygen depletion.

"The Department of Planning and Environment labs tested for a full suite of metals and found levels below the ANZECC marine water quality guidelines (where guidelines are available)," a statement read.

"Officers observed hundreds of dead fish of various species and sizes with greying around the gills, which suggested possible oxygen depletion.

"A decrease in oxygen content in water is a natural event that can cause rapid fish deaths.

"Residents are warned to stay out of the water until a cause is determined.

Areas at risk of fish-kills

The entire coast of Australia is at risk of marine and riverine die-offs, Guida said.

With the east coast at the mercy of La Nina, the west coast is experiencing another weather phenomenon; a negative Indian Ocean Dipole, which is fuelling marine heatwaves.

Locals described a coral spawn and fish die-off near Exmouth around Ningaloo Reef in March as "different to anything they'd seen before," Guida said.

"We saw a coral die-off and a fish kill," Guida said.

"It's not definitive but one of the causes they suspect is because of the marine heatwave there were alterations in water currents and temperature.

"What supposedly happened is the coral spawn hadn't been able to dissipate as effectively and essentially created coral spawn slicks that were trapped close to the coast

"You had this massive concentrated die-off of coral spawn that used up oxygen in the water as they decay leading to the subsequent fish kill."

Guida said the modification of river systems, wetlands and coastal regions are a "compounding factor" for mass fish kills and called for greater environmental protections around waterways.

"Coastal ecosystems are under more pressure than ever," Guida said.

"Whether we modify these systems for residential purposes or farming we can increase the frequency and intensity of floodings because we're changing the way water naturally flows.

"We need to have stronger environmental laws that support the protection and recovery of these ecosystems so they are more resilient to future impacts.

"That way we can have a healthier future."

Victims of NSW's devastating floods say they are "sick" of waiting for government action a day after the release of the state's flood inquiry report, which made 28 recommendations on how similar disasters are handled in future.

Lismore resident Katie Davis lost her home in the March floods and is currently living in a caravan with her three children.

Davis told Today she wanted to relocate but locals were still being kept in the dark about how a buyback scheme would work.

READ MORE: Four states bracing for extreme weather

"If we were given the opportunity to leave, 100 percent, I would be out within a heartbeat," she said. 

"No way do I want to be stuck here again after what we went through in February. It was scary."

Davis said everyone had been waiting months for details, but yesterday's report did not bring them any closer to understanding what would happen with their homes.

"We haven't really been given any solid information," Davis said. 

"They have just said we will adopt it, we don't know when, we don't know who is eligible. We are all sort of sitting, waiting."

READ MORE: Push to remove shark nets from Australia's most famous beach

Davis said it was disheartening to see the disparities between the assistance flood victims had been given in Queensland compared to NSW.

"I think the NSW Government is a bit of a joke. If you compare what they have provided and promised or even said, compared to what Queensland has achieved, we are polar opposites. 

"They went through the same flood that we went through. They have already got buybacks, their schemes are already in place." 

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet defended his government's response to the floods on Today this morning, saying significant progress had been made towards the region's recovery.

"We've got people in temporary accommodation. We've put $3.5 billion into that support," he said. 

"We're seeing many businesses now start to reopen, but there's a long journey ahead and it's going to be a very difficult time."

The premier said the government would be working through the details of the buyback scheme.

By the end of August, the state government will open expressions of interest for landholders and will look at public land which may be available.

Kevin Hogan, the opposition spokesperson for Trade and Tourism said the process should have started months ago.

"After yesterday's announcement by the state government, our community is no clearer on the details for voluntary land swaps, buy backs and house raising," Mr Hogan said.

"The criteria should have already been set. Applications should already be getting processed.

"Queensland announced a buyback and house raising plan within weeks of the disaster. People are camping in their houses or in caravans, and they are still no clearer about the decisions they need to make."

Shark nets are ineffective and just "creating a false sense of safety" one Sydney mayor claims as she pushes for them to be removed from Bondi, Australia's most famous beach.

The push comes weeks after a report on the 2021-2022 season found 325 of 376 animals caught in nets were non-targeted, critically endangered species.

Speaking to Today, Mayor of Waverley LGA Paula Masselos said there are better ways of keeping the community safe.

READ MORE: Grim prediction about mass fish kills across Australia

"Shark nets are very old technology," she said.

"They were first introduced in 1937. We're in the 21st century now. I believe we can do much, much better.

"(They) are only 150m long, six metres high and set at a depth of about 10m. They're not there to actually create a barrier between swimmers and sharks, but they sort of help disrupt some of the swimming patterns.

"When you look at Bondi, it is actually a kilometre long. So the shark net isn't creating a huge barrier at all.

"I think it's actually creating a false sense of safety."

READ MORE: Police seize staggering amount of 'ice'

Masselos believes SMART drumlines, aerial drone surveillance and "listening buoys" are much more efficient and detecting sharks and mitigating the risks of attack.

In total, 51 shark nets are installed in beaches between Newcastle and Wollongong; a 250 kilometre stretch of coast.

The nets are only in place between September to April each year.

READ MORE: 'Conveyor belts' of cold fronts approaching country

Waverly is not the first council lobbying the state government to remove shark nets. Central Coast MP Adam Crouch wants to see his electorate become the first location in NSW to ban the nets.

The shark meshing program aims to deter three target species of shark according to the DPI; these are tiger sharks, bull sharks and great white sharks.

"They are the three sharks that are most frequently involved in serious shark bites in NSW," it said.

Great white sharks have been responsible for all fatal NSW shark attacks for the past two years, with the state clocking the highest number of attacks in the nation over this period.

READ MORE: What we know about shark attacks around Australia

In February 2022 diving instructor Simon Nellist, 35, became the first person to be killed in a Sydney shark attack in nearly 60 years.

Nellist was training for an open water ocean swim when he was mauled by a great white shark, "at least three metres" long at Little Bay.

In response to the attack the DPI installed 15 SMART drumlines along the coast from Little Bay Beach to Bondi – capturing two large tiger sharks in the week following.

The animals were captured, tagged and released.

Three men have been arrested after authorities seized $675 million worth of methylamphetamine, also known as "ice", destined for Australian streets.

The illicit drugs were found in a number of sea cargo containers, which arrived into Port Botany in Sydney last month.

Australian Border Force (ABF) officers examined the shipment, acting on intelligence.

READ MORE: 'One cold front after another for at least the next week'

Inside they located the methylamphetamine, which weighed 748kg in total.

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the ice was concealed in marble stone tiles among 24 shipping containers.

The containers originated from the United Arab Emirates.

READ MORE: Push to remove shark nets from Australia's most famous beach

"We suspect the impact of this seizure will be felt across Sydney and NSW in the coming months," Webb said.

"Sadly, Sydney's drug market is one of the largest in the country."

Following the "tremendous haul", three men, were arrested and charged yesterday.

They are accused of being part of a "well organised" criminal syndicate.

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Two men, one aged 24, the other 26, were arrested at a unit in Burwood and have since been charged.

Two Victorian men – aged 34 and 40 – were also stopped in a vehicle at Sydney Olympic Park.

Both were arrested and one has since been charged.

One of the three men arrested was an "organiser", Detective Superintendent John Watson said.

He refused to rule out further arrests.

The men have been charged and have all been refused bail.

They will appear at court later today.

Watson said a "huge operation" unfolded following the seizure on July 27, culminating in 11 Commonwealth search warrants and involving more than 100 officers.

Addressing the seizure on Today, Former Commissioner of NSW Police Mike Fuller praised the work of officers.

"Ice is a particularly destructive drug in the community. Heroin was terrible in the '90s, but this is worse," he said.

"This is a really destructive drug.

So well done to NSW Police…this will have significant impact on supply and demand".

The next week will be cold, windy and rainy as a "conveyor belt of cold fronts" sweeps over south east Australia, plunging temperatures and putting multiple states on alert once again.

Weatherzone said there will be "one cold front after another for at least the next week", renewing the risk of flooding in already saturated areas.

"Adelaide, Melbourne, Hobart and Canberra – and everywhere in between – can expect a persistent spell of blustery, cool to cold, showery weather – with the first burst on Thursday into Friday morning," the weather service wrote.

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Bureau Meteorologist Jonathan Howe said the first cold front, expected to hit today, will bring strong winds and rain.

"With the landscape already wet and some rivers already in flood there is a risk of renewed flooding for parts of NSW, Victoria and Tasmania" he said.

"Into Thursday morning we see showers start to pick up across parts of central Victoria and the rest of Tasmania and into Thursday night we do see rainfall increasing across parts of north east Victoria into southern NSW.

"Behind it with this very cold air we could see thunderstorms, local hail along the south coast including for Melbourne."

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Showers will continue to push through NSW into Friday, before a "second colder" front pushes across the country on Saturday.

Weatherzone said "the coldest outbreak of the period (is) looking increasingly likely to arrive early next week.

A number of severe weather alerts and flood warnings have been issued with residents urged to stay across alerts.

NSW-based warnings can be accessed here, Victoria here, Tasmania here and the ACT here.

The latest spell of volatile weather comes days after the BoM upgraded the likelihood of another La Nina occurring to 70 per cent, meaning the nation is likely to head into a third wet weather pattern.

NASA's new moon rocket has arrived at the launch pad ahead of its debut flight in less than two weeks.

The 98-metre rocket emerged from its mammoth hangar late on Tuesday night (yesterday AEST), drawing crowds of Kennedy Space Centre workers, many of whom were not yet born when NASA sent astronauts to the moon a half-century ago.

It took nearly 10 hours for the rocket to make the 6.5-kilometre trip to the pad, pulling up at sunrise.

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NASA is aiming for an August 29 lift-off for the lunar test flight. No one will be inside the crew capsule atop the rocket, just three mannequins swarming with sensors to measure radiation and vibration.

The capsule will fly around the moon in a distant orbit for a couple weeks, before heading back for a splashdown in the Pacific. The entire flight should last six weeks.

The flight is the first moonshot in NASA's Artemis program. The space agency is aiming for a lunar-orbiting flight with astronauts in two years and a lunar landing by a human crew as early as 2025.

That's much later than NASA anticipated when it established the program more than a decade ago, as the space shuttle fleet retired. The years of delays have added billions of dollars to the cost.

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"Now for the first time since 1972, we're going to be launching a rocket that's designed for deep space," NASA's rocket program manager, John Honeycutt, said recently.

NASA's new SLS moon rocket, short for Space Launch System, is 12 metres shorter than the Saturn V rockets used during Apollo a half-century ago.

But it's more powerful, using a core stage and twin strap-on boosters, similar to the ones used for the space shuttles.

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"When you look at the rocket, it almost looks retro. It looks like we're looking back toward the Saturn V," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told reporters earlier this month.

"But it's a totally different, new, highly sophisticated, more sophisticated rocket and spacecraft."

Twenty-four astronauts flew to the moon during Apollo, with 12 of them landing on it from 1969 through 1972.

The space agency wants a more diverse team and more sustained effort under Artemis, named after Apollo's mythological twin sister.

"I want to underscore that this is a test flight," Nelson said. "It's just the beginning."

This was the rocket's third trip to the pad. A countdown test in April was marred by fuel leaks and other equipment trouble, forcing NASA to return the rocket to the hangar for repairs. The dress rehearsal was repeated at the pad in June, with improved results.

KEY POINTS: • More than 200 homes in Nelson have been evacuated.• The Maitai River, which runs through Nelson city, has burst its banks.• Nelson Tasman Civil Defence urges those living near the river from the Nile St Bridge to…

The Australian Capital Territory government has changed the wording of a serious sexual abuse crime after the advocacy of former Australian of the Year Grace Tame.

Previously, the crime was described as a "sexual relationship with child or young person under special care".

But it has now been changed to "persistent sexual abuse of child or young person under special care".

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ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury celebrated the change, which came into effect today.

"Language is powerful, and I hope this will help validate for victim-survivors that all 'relationships' of this kind are in fact abuse," he wrote on Twitter.

Grace Tame thanked Rattenbury, the territory's attorney-general, for his work changing the law.

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"This one's for all survivors. It's not your fault, nor your shame," Tame wrote on Twitter.

"This win is a hopeful sign."

Only three jurisdictions in Australia still describe the crime with the word "relationship" – Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

Tame was groomed and repeatedly sexually assaulted by a paedophile teacher, but for years Tasmania's gag laws meant she was unable to speak out, while her abuser bragged on Facebook.

The 2021 Australian of the Year was also involved in the #LetHerSpeak campaign, created and run by survivor advocate Nina Funnell, which saw an overhaul of gag-laws in Tasmania, the Northern Territory and Victoria in 2020.

READ MORE: Grace Tame shares powerful open letter after publication of viral photo